Joy and Pain -- Mostly Pain

The Twins moved back into the win column yesterday with their first comeback victory that I can remember. Joe Mauer continued his incredible August run by homering twice and improving his seasonal hitting line to a ridiculous .383/.448/.653 while Michael Cuddyer chipped in three hits and Delmon Young once again flashed his power stroke by homering, doubling and driving in four. It wasn't exactly the day's biggest Minnesota sports story, but it was still nice to see the Twins show some life and win a game.

Still, there were plenty of negatives to be drawn from the contest. Carl Pavano struggled again, surrendering five runs over four innings (unbelievable how this rotation has become completely incapable of piecing even five-inning starts with any consistency). Worse yet, Jason Kubel exited after fouling a ball directly into the knee he injured and had surgically repaired several years ago. The injury is being labeled as a contusion, but fans are understandably on edge. Kubel was sporting a 1307 OPS in the month of August, making this timing rather unfortunate.

The Twins are in pretty dire straits right now. Three of their original starting pitchers are on the shelf, and La Velle's blog entry from prior to last night's game made it seem like the recall of struggling farmhand Philip Humber was more out of desperation for a usable arm than any thoughts that he's going to realistically help this team win games. At this rate, they're going to have a tough time staying in even third place.

And just for the heck of it, my thoughts on the Brett Favre situation...

As a person who has followed and cheered for the Vikings for much of my life, of course I have historically rued Favre. And of course, like almost any sports fan, I've grown extremely tired of his indecisive "Will I or won't I?" retirement act after each of the past five or so seasons. I hate the way announcers drool over him, I hate the way he carelessly heaves balls into triple-coverage and gets credited for being courageous, and I hate the way every one of his bonehead plays is passed off as the result of a guy "having fun out there." But, I'm a Vikings fan and I want to see this team win, and I have little doubt that his addition makes this a far better football team.

I have always felt -- and continue to feel -- that Favre is a vastly overrated quarterback. To me, anyone who would claim that he's the greatest quarterback ever to play is out of their mind. But let's keep the facts straight here. He is literally the most experienced quarterback in NFL history, he'll have no trouble acclimating to the offensive system employed by the Vikings, he's still seemingly got a pretty good arm, and I trust him a heck of a lot more to make tough plays in key situations than either of the team's current backup-quality options at the quarterback position.

Detractors can point toward Favre's advanced age and well as his injury-hampered performance late last season, but the fact remains that he was excellent in 2007 and quite effective for the first 10 weeks of last season before his arm ailment became an overwhelming issue. That injury was ostensibly corrected by a recent surgical procedure, and even if his body isn't what it once was, I'd still bet almost anything on him being an upgrade over what the Vikings currently boast. Sage Rosenfels is a similarly mistake-prone pocket passer who lacks the experience and talent of Favre, and Tarvaris Jackson is an athletic but hugely flawed player who has shown very little progress since being drafted. Some might say that this Vikings roster is so stacked with talent that they need only a somewhat reliable caretaker at the quarterback position in order to succeed, but I don't trust Rosenfels or Jackson to be even that. And, apparently, neither does Brad Childress.

The Vikings are an extremely well built team right now, with the league's best running back and a dominating defense. Relying on a second-string quarterback like Rosenfels or Jackson to run this machine would have been fairly depressing; Favre has the tools to run this offense smoothly and keep opposing defenses from being able to stack nine players on Adrian Peterson. He's also got plenty of experience in the postseason, where the Vikings were likely to end up regardless of who was taking their snaps (some might take issue with that statement, but I do not think the NFC North is a particularly impressive division).

If all goes well and major injuries are avoided, the Vikings have a great shot at the Super Bowl, and it could well be that Favre is the guy first guy to grab and hoist the Lombardi Trophy. That might make some fans' blood boil, but I'd welcome it. It would be an incredibly unique story in the history of sports and I'd be proud to watch it all unfold. And while many lifelong Vikings fans won't necessarily be all that ecstatic about Favre's individual success, there will be 52 other players on that Vikings roster that shouldn't be forgotten.

Ideas? Suggestions?

I must apologize for the rather inconsistent update schedule on this blog over the course of the past couple months. I assure you it hasn’t been for a lack of effort. I’m not exactly breaking any ground when I say this has been an awfully quiet offseason for the Twins, and as such it’s been quite a struggle for me to come up with topics to write about and keep the page fresh.

With that being said, I wanted to open the doors to any suggestions. If there’s something you’d like to see covered in this space in the near future, please feel free to leave a comment or shoot me an email at nels2807@umn.edu. All ideas shall be taken into consideration.

Pohlad, Pavano, and the Pathetic Purple

We’re a full week into 2009 now, and so far I’ve got to say it doesn’t feel much different from 2008. Oh well. Here are a few notes as we keep counting down toward those four beautiful words: “Pitchers and catchers report.”

* I briefly commented yesterday on the passing of Carl Pohlad, who has officially owned the Twins since he purchased the team from Calvin Griffith back in 1984 (though it’s fairly well known that his sons have been running things for the past few years). Certainly this qualifies as big news for those who have followed the team, as Pohlad has been a figurehead in this organization for over two decades.

I don’t know what’s really appropriate to say at this point. Pohlad lived for 93 years, enjoyed great wealth for much of his lifetime, was part of a great family and had the privilege of owning a Major League Baseball team. I think it’s fair to say he had a good run. I respect the fact that he built a fortune for himself and that the Twins won two World Series Championships during his tenure. Whether or not the complaints that Pohlad was overly stingy when it came to putting money into this franchise were fair is debatable, but I do know that I will forever hold bitterness toward him for his role in nearly contracting the team back in 2001.

In any case, I do send my best wishes to the Pohlad family as they cope with their loss. I don’t know much about his sons and their interest in continuing to operate the franchise; it will be interesting to see if an effort is made to sell the team over the next few years.

* The Indians yesterday came to terms with Carl Pavano on a one-year deal worth $1.5 million, plus incentives. The Yankees made a big mistake when they bought high on Pavano after his career year for the Marlins in 2004, but this is a great signing for the Indians. One and a half million isn’t a large commitment, and his possible $5.3 million in incentives don’t begin to kick in until his reaches 18 starts or 130 innings (neither of which he has accomplished since 2004).

I’m not a big fan of Pavano, but he’s 33 years old and has a history of pitching well. If he stays healthy, he can probably counted on for close to league average production; if he doesn’t stay healthy, the Indians aren’t on the hook for much money at all. This is what a low-risk veteran signing should look like. When you hear complaints about the Twins handing $5 million to Livan Hernandez and $3 million to Ramon Ortiz, this is why.

I think the Indians have had an absolutely fantastic offseason. They’ve upgraded their bullpen substantially by adding Kerry Wood and Joe Smith, they’ve filled a hole in their infield by acquiring Mark DeRosa, and now they’ve brought in a potentially solidified a patchy rotation with the addition of Pavano. They also grabbed a very nice future middle-infield piece in Luis Valbuena, who came over in the J.J. Putz blockbuster. They’ve done all this while giving up very little in terms of money or players (with the exception of the somewhat expensive Wood contract). I still question whether they will enter the 2009 season as solid favorites in the AL Central because there are some serious questions about guys like Fausto Carmona and Travis Hafner, but this is a club that came on strong late last year and GM Mark Shapiro has made some savvy moves this winter, making it all the more frustrating to watch Bill Smith continually sit still.

* I guess I’m what you could call a Vikings fan, but for the most part I tend to be pretty indifferent about them. People sometimes ask me why. The fact that Brad Childress remains employed after that debacle of a playoff game and after that wholly underwhelming season should be explanation enough. I do my fair share of complaining about decisions made by the Twins organization, but it is by far the most competently run sports franchise in this town.

VOTE!!!

I've already cast my hypothetical votes for MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year in each league, but today I must urge every reader over the age of 17 to get out and vote in the far more important presidential and congressional races today. This is an important day that will have a significant impact on the future direction of our country, so please make sure to get out and make your voice heard. I've never used this blog to push my personal political views and I'm not going to start now, so I'll simply encourage everyone to make it out to the polls and vote for whichever candidates you've chosen to support.

We'll get back to Twins-related programming later this week.

Heading Out East

I have been traded to a New York blog. This morning I will fly out to NYC to negotiate a new contract. If talks are unsuccessful, I will return on Saturday evening and dutifully play out my contract with Nick & Nick's Twins Blog.

Should be interesting to be in the Big Apple in the wake of this Santana trade and in the days preceding a New York vs. Boston showdown in the Super Bowl. If I come across anything interesting and have Internet access, I'll be sure to blog about it. Otherwise, I'll be back with another post on Monday. Have a good weekend and thanks to all those who shared their viewpoints on the Santana swap in the comments section yesterday.

The Vikings: Making It Easy To Be a Twins Fan

On Sunday afternoon, the Vikings suffered a demoralizing 34-0 loss to the rival Green Bay Packers. The Vikes fell to 3-6 on the season, and are seemingly headed for another disappointing sub-.500 finish. The team's popularity seems to be dwindling; meanwhile, the Twins remain a hot topic for Minnesota sports fans despite not having found a whole lot more success in their latest season. It's not hard to see why.

I used to be a big Vikings fan. It was hard not to be, with the high-flying offenses of the late '90s and the likable personalities those teams featured -- guys like Robert Smith, Cris Carter and Jon Randle. But recently, the team has become increasingly difficult to watch, and difficult to like.

I think that at this point it's fair to say that Brad Childress was a bad hire. Not only is he a terrible coach, he seemingly has no interest in making the Vikings an exciting or marketable team. He restricts the media from practices. He insists upon running the most boring offensive scheme ever conceived (West Coast Offense), even when his personnel aren't suited for it. He seems to have a generally snide and condescending attitude, even though it's growing more and more difficult to believe that he actually knows what he's doing when so many of his decisions turn out so poorly. It is evident that his players have stopped playing for him; what other conclusion could possibly be drawn from the lifeless performance the Vikings gave at Lambeau Field on Sunday?

The Vikings have gained a reputation as a heartless organization. The franchise has been embarrassed by its players' actions -- from Love Boat to Whizzinator -- and the front office has not come off much better. The latest offensive act from the Vikings' brain-trust was their decision to dock receiver Troy Williamson a game check for attending the funeral of his maternal grandmother. After being lambasted by players, media and fans for this absurd decision, the team elected to change its mind and pay Williamson, but the damage had been done.

The fans are quickly losing interest. On two occasions already this season, companies have had to buy a large number of tickets to prevent a home game from being blacked out on local television. It would seem that there is a very good chance that this week's game against the Raiders will be blacked out; the Vikings reportedly still have 3,500 tickets remaining for the game, and they'll have a nearly possible time selling those with an uninteresting opponent and their only exciting offensive player (Adrian Peterson) out with a knee injury.

Meanwhile, even when the Twins aren't having success, they are still a likable organization. Say what you will about Ron Gardenhire, but he's at least an affable guy and his players seem to like him and respect him. As general manager, Terry Ryan was reserved and sometimes condescending in the same manner that Childress is, but Ryan was much more open and willing to talk to the local media. Unlike the Vikes, the Twins don't repel fans and prospective free agents with their shady business practices.

Is it any wonder that the Twins are selling tickets and gaining fans while the Vikings sink further into despair? Is it any wonder the Twins are building a new stadium in downtown Minneapolis while Zygi Wilf continues to unsuccessfully lobby for one of his own?

The Vikings used to be a nice diversion for me during the baseball offseason, but now I can barely watch the games anymore. In my opinion, Wilf needs to make a coaching change and start changing the image of this organization.